Wood Ducks host Frederick at 7 p.m

Staff Report

Friday

Jun 7, 2019 at 3:28 PM

Tonight the Wood Ducks (42-18) and Keys (28-30) play game two of their four game series, as the Wood Ducks send lefty Sal Mendez (2-0, 2.66) to the mound to face off with Frederick right-hander David Lebron (2-0, 2.87). Farm Appreciation Weekend continues as the Woodies will again play as the Kinston Collard Greens.

It’s Mother Earth Friday, and postgame fireworks will follow the action presented by WNCT. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and the broadcast will begin at 6:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online on 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio Apps. For tickets and more information visit woodducksbaseball.com or call (252) 686-5172.

LAST TIME OUT: Sam Huff delivered a walk-off fielder's choice to lift the Wood Ducks over the Keys, 2-1 in ten innings on Thursday. The Wood Ducks got a strong start from John King who fired five scoreless, but the offense stranded 12 men on base on the night, and were unable to make the most of two bases loaded situations early in the game. Yonny Hernandez picked up the other Woodies RBI, and Yohel Pozo tallied two hits on the night.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Wood Ducks have now scored first in 11 of their last 12 games, and are 33-8 overall this year when striking first in a ballgame. Down East now sits with a magic number of three, 7.0 games up on Winston-Salem with 10 games to play. The Wood Ducks have the second best record in minor league baseball trailing only Delmarva (SAL, 45-14).

YONNY IS MONEY: Yonny Hernandez drove in a run with the bases loaded yesterday in the fourth inning. This season 11 of his 25 RBI have come with the bases full.

THE LATZ EFFECT: After struggling to start with the Wood Ducks, Jake Latz has turned it around, giving up just two earned runs over his last 27 innings of work, and winning his last four starts. He has lowered his ERA from 10.38 to 2.29 over that stretch, and has struck out 36 while walking just 9 in his las five outings. The Woodies are 6-2 overall in his 8 starts. He was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for May 27-June 2.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Wood Ducks 23 road wins this season are tied for the most in all of minor league baseball. Down East is 23-5 on the road, but just 18-13 at Grainger Stadium. At home the Woodies are batting .250, with an OPS of .699, and an ERA of 2.85, and scoring an average of 4.6 runs-per-game. On the road the Woodies boast an average of .260 to go along with an OPS of .716, and an ERA of 2.63, while scoring 5.1 runs-per-game. By comparison, the Woodies won 12 road games in the entire first half last season, and just 11 in the second half.

BAHR NONE!: Jason Bahr has been incredibly consistent for the Wood Ducks this season, giving up two earned runs or fewer in all nine starts. He picked up his fifth win of the season on Tuesday to lead all Wood Ducks starters, and his 1.90 ERA ranks second in the Carolina League.

LEO LEADS THE WAY: Wood Ducks outfielder Leody Taveras has reached base safely in 18 straight ballgames, batting .284, and sporting an OBP of .400 over that span, dating back to May 17. His streak is tied with KJ Harrison (POT) as the longest active in the Carolina League. Taveras also had an 11-game on base streak for the Woodies from April 23-May 7.

POZO PROVIDES THE PUNCH: Woodies catcher Yohel Pozo has heated up at the plate as of late. He has hit safely in six straight games going 8-23 (.348) over that stretch. Pozo has also struck out just 13 times in 41 games played this season, the fewest strikeouts for any Wood Duck who has played in at least 25 games. His strikeout rate is just 7.8% this season.

HOME RUN HAPPY: After starting the year slowly in the power de¬partment, the Wood Ducks have now hit 15 home runs in their last 16 games, including five games with multiple home runs. Down East now is fourth in the Carolina League in home runs with 38.

HUFF KEEPS HITTING: Sam Huff came through with his second walk-off RBI this season with a fielder's choice against the Keys, Thursday. He hit his fourth home run of the season for the Wood Ducks Saturday, and his 19th overall this season, third most in all of minor league baseball. Huff has nine multi-hit games in 25 games played in Down East. He eclipsed his 2018 home run total (18), which came over 118 games, in just 52 games this season.

MAGNIFICENT MAY: The Wood Ducks finished the month 20-9, their highest win total in a month in franchise history. They wrapped up the month 21 games above .500 and with a 7.5 lead in the Southern Divi¬sion. They enjoyed three win streaks of 4+ games during May, including six straight victories to close the month.

RAGS AT THE HELM: Corey Ragsdale takes over as skipper for the Wood Ducks in 2019. Ragsdale will remain the Rangers Minor League Field Coordinator, while assuming a managerial seat for the first time since 2015, when he led the Hickory Crawdads to a South Atlantic League Championship, the second of his career.

SHOWTIME: Former Wood Duck Brett Martin made his MLB debut for the Rangers April 19, firing a scoreless ninth inning in a 7-2 loss to the Astros. Martin needed just nine pitches to get through the inning, recording three ground ball outs. The left-handed reliever becomes the fourth Wood Duck in franchise history to make their Major League de¬but, joining Ricardo Rodriguez, Jeffrey Springs, and C.D. Pelham. Martin pitched for the Woodies in their inaugural season in 2017, helping Down East to a share of the Carolina League Championship.